The present invention relates to a flip-up mower deck with an arrangement for positioning the mower deck between a use position and a storage/servicing position. More particularly, this invention relates to a mower deck having an improved construction which significantly reduces the number of steps required to switch the deck from the use position to the storage/servicing position.
Riding mowing vehicles for cutting grass or vegetation have become fairly commonplace in today's society. The vehicles have been designed to solve various problems and perform various tasks. One type of mowing vehicle that has become fairly common are those which have mowing decks attached to the front of the vehicle. By placing the mower deck forward of the forward most wheels of the vehicle, the operator of the vehicle can often get the deck closer to objects, such as trees, while mowing than if the deck was mounted behind the vehicle's front wheels. Additionally, by mounting the deck forward of the vehicle's front wheels, the amount of grass left uncut when a user turns around during mowing is often significantly reduced if not eliminated.
When a mower deck is mounted to the front of a vehicle, it is often desirable for the operator to be able to quickly and easily couple and uncouple the deck from the front of the vehicle. For example, the operator may wish to perform a task other than mowing and therefore need to place a different implement on the front of the vehicle, such as a snow blower. One extremely advantageous hitching arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,886 to Esau et al., which is herein incorporated by reference. This patent discloses a hitching arrangement between a mower deck and a propelling vehicle. This hitching arrangement readily permits an operator of the vehicle to quickly couple or uncouple the mower deck from the propelling vehicle. This patent discloses a hitching arrangement between a mower deck and propelling vehicle that includes a lift shaft rotatably supported by and extending transversely across the deck. It further discloses at least one hitch arm secured on one end to the lift shaft and having a hook with a downwardly facing opening on its other end for engagement with a generally horizontally disposed attaching member on the propelling vehicle. The deck includes a cutting height adjustment mechanism to permit the operator to vary the cutting height of the mower deck. The cutting height adjustment mechanism is also operably coupled to the lift shaft to permit the operator to rotate the lift shaft and thereby couple or uncouple the deck with the mowing vehicle by moving the hooks out of engagement with the horizontal attaching member.
While the hitching arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,886 is highly advantageous, one of the drawbacks of the particular arrangement was its inability to provide the operator with ready and immediate access to the underneath side of the deck while the deck is coupled with the mowing vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,503 to Esaw et al., however, disclosed a flip-up arrangement for a mower deck that overcame this narrow drawback, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This flip-up arrangement included a unique mechanism in the hitch arms that permitted the deck to be flipped up to a generally vertical position while still attached to the vehicle, thereby permitting ready access to the underneath of the mower deck. This not only allowed the operator to clean the underneath of the deck and have access to the blades to perform maintenance thereon, but provided a quick and practical way to reduce the overall length of the mowing vehicle for storage purposes.
While successful in overcoming some disadvantages of prior deck arrangements, the mower deck of U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,503 does have some drawbacks. In particular, the disclosed mower deck requires that a deck stand be coupled with a rear of the deck for mounting and dismounting the deck from the vehicle as well as to flip the deck up to its storage/servicing position. Other drawbacks include having to adjust the lift lever to install the deck stand and then again having to adjust the lift lever before the deck can be flipped up, having to disconnect the PTO drive shaft from the mower deck before the deck can be flipped up, and having to unlock the deck by moving levers prior to flipping the deck up.
Therefore, there is a need for a flip-up deck arrangement which does not require the attachment of items to the deck prior to being able to flip the deck up to the storage/servicing position. There is also a need for a flip-up deck arrangement that permits movement of the deck from a use position to a storage/service position without requiring uncoupling the deck from the power takeoff of the mowing vehicle. There is also a need for a flip-up deck arrangement which does not require the operator to perform numerous steps before being able to move the deck from its use position to its storage/servicing position. The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and fills these and other needs.